Adrian Wyld / AP

Orlando's Dwight Howard goes up for a dunk against the Raptors during the first half of Game 4 on Saturday.

updated 7:50 p.m. ET April 26, 2008

TORONTO - Challenged by his coach to show more aggression, Jameer Nelson responded with a furious fourth quarter.

Nelson scored 12 of his 19 points in the final period, including 10 straight at one stretch, and the Orlando Magic beat the Toronto Raptors 106-94 on Saturday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

“As a player, sometimes you start to feel it and I started to feel it in the fourth quarter,” Nelson said. “I hit a couple of big shots and my teammates started looking for me. When you make shots, your confidence rises.”

Rashard Lewis added 27 points and 13 rebounds, and Dwight Howard added 19 points, 16 boards and eight blocks for the third-seeded Magic, who host Game 5 of this first-round series Monday night.

Chris Bosh set a career playoff-high with 39 points and added 15 rebounds for the Raptors, while T.J. Ford had 12 points and 13 assists.

Toronto must win Monday to stop Orlando from advancing beyond the first-round for the first time since 1996.

“It’s not over yet,” Ford said. “It’s the first one to four. We got ourselves in a hole and we just have to continue to stay positive.”

With Orlando down 76-73 after three quarters, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy took Nelson aside and told him to take more shots in the fourth.

“(Point guard) is a very difficult job,” Van Gundy said. “There’s such a balance between trying to get other guys involved and being aggressive in looking for your shot. It’s the hardest job in basketball, and he played great in the fourth quarter.”

Nelson started his run with a pull-up jumper, then followed Jason Kapono’s 3-pointer with one of his own, keeping the score tied. Another pull-up jumper and 3-pointer followed, and the Magic never trailed again.

“He made a couple of easy shots and then, by that time, I guess the basket looked a little bigger to him,” Bosh said.

Nelson, who played almost 35 minutes Saturday, had back spasms after Game 3 and had to lie down in the hallway as he walked to the locker room after the game. So how did he cure his sore muscles?

“I had Dwight walk on my back,” Nelson said, laughing.

In truth, ice and pills took care of the injury, which didn’t bother Nelson much anyway.

“It kind of came and went,” he said. “Obviously, when you’re making shots it’s going to go away.”

Toronto stayed close until back-to-back 3-pointers by Hedo Turkoglu and Lewis gave the Magic a 100-92 lead with 1:31 remaining.

Turkoglu had 18 points and nine rebounds. Keith Bogans scored 12 points for Orlando.

“It seems like any time they penetrate our defense, something good happens for them,” Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said. “We’ve got to do a better job of stopping their dribble penetration.”

Lewis went 10-for-19 from the field. The Magic made four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and finished 11-for-29 from beyond the arc.

Van Gundy said Lewis was “outstanding.”

More news

Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters

Rondo makes the Celtics go

PBT: Boston's Rajon Rondo continues to be named in trade talks, which is madness. The Celtics guard creates offense and makes everyone around him better, which was evident in Sunday's win over the Bulls.

Rondo's triple-double carries Celtics over Bulls

Paul Pierce has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics.

Headlines

• Label

PBT: Howard wants ball, and he's angry

CSN: Wall finds lesson in losing to superstars

First black NBA player gets honor at Hawks game

PBT: Will Ferrell to do All-Star intros? We 'Like' idea

Interactive: Who will be MVP this season?

Vote: Which team will win 2011-12 NBA title?

Interactive: Is LeBron the most-hated athlete?

Opinion: Knicks' Lin already inspiring others